Boulder County commissioners hearing about Boulder County Open Space tax: 8/17/2023
The upcoming Boulder County commissioners hearing about Boulder County Open Space tax extensions is scheduled for Thursday this week: >>> August 17 (Thursday) at 9am (Resolutions 2023-068 & 2023-069; items # 1 and #2…
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A Slap in the Face for Amazon?
Retail hasn’t changed much over the last 100 years. Even without AI drones and the Internet, the Great Atlantic and Pacific grocery chain offered one-hour home delivery of fresh groceries and pantry staples -…
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Reckoning or Reward: Will New ESG Disclosure Regulations Startle Natural Brands?
Environmental, Social, and governance reporting has been under way for over two decades. Often dismissed as green washing, many ESG statements seemed to cherry-pick good deeds while glossing over suspect practices. As of 2024,…
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COVID-19 is just a pop quiz. The real test is coming.
COVID-19 is just a pop quiz. The real test is coming.
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It Takes Two to “Lean In”.
Created on 2015-04-17 14:58 Published on 2015-04-17 14:58 I recently attended a trade association conference in Washington, DC. I met a woman who had recently joined the organization as a dues paying member and…
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Coalition For Sustainable Profits declares war on National Organic Program at US Senate
Via: Keep the Soil in Organic Theo Crisantes says it is time to limit the power of the NOSB. Another blow against Real Organic came last week with the Senate testimony of the…
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How to let a DC lobbyist ruin the organic brand in one short afternoon.
Created on 2017-07-16 19:37 Published on 2017-07-16 19:49 Recent testimony to a congressional committee showed the danger of letting political lobbyists represent your brand within a specialized industry community. In this case, they got…
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Guidance for Organic Operations and Certifiers: Apeel Produce Coatings
Date: July 21, 2023 To: NOP Organic Operations and Certifiers Subject: Produce coatings comprised of mono and diacylglycerides and citric acid marketed by Apeel Sciences – additional considerations for certification. Background: Apeel Sciences…
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Coming Full Circle
Chapter 1 Vanishing Rural Communities In residential subdivisions across the Midwest, there is often one house that doesn’t fit in. It sits at the top of the hill, with dying cottonwoods along the north…
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Commentary: Is Full Spectrum Hemp a Thing of the Past in Colorado?
Intoxicating synthesized D8 and D10 street drugs are now legal in Colorado. Your full spectrum hemp extract is not. Read that opener again. It is, in fact, correct. How did this happen? Lawmakers were…
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NBFD GMO Labeling: Just Bad Law
The AMS should promote full transparency to allow for a robust debate, among all stakeholders and acknowledge all value systems, about the nuances of implementing and enforcing the law.
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How Modern Milk Monopolies Function
How Modern Milk Monopolies Function Monopolies result from a single company or group of companies undertaking to control supply, demand and pricing of a particular product or service in order to reduce competition for…
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Colorado Milk Marketing Board: How it Functions and Call for Sunset Review
The Colorado Milk Marketing Board (CMMB or Board) was enabled by the Colorado Agriculture Act of 1938 and first convened in the early 1960’s under the auspices of the Colorado Department of A Colorado…
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The Colorado Dairy Monopoly
Modernizing Milk Marketing Orders for Colorado The milk industry continues to change rapidly, often in step with the consolidation of farms, processors, distribution systems and mass retailers. The pastoral dairy farm that once milked…
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Cornucopia Eggs Ratings Startle Greenwashed Brands
See how the best brands make it to the top of Cornucopia’s updated Organic Egg Scorecard, then use our tool to buy the highest-rated organic egg brand you can afford. (Read our detailed breakdown of…
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Analysis of and Recommendations for Improving Proposed Boulder County Composting Code Land Use Amendments
Submitted to Boulder County Departmental Staff of CP&P (and Planning Commission), OSCAR, BCPOS, Public Works, Boulder Public Heath, and Boulder County Commissioners Submitted 16 June 2023 Introduction – Thank you for the opportunity to…
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Fiasco: the Fight for GMO Transparency
What did the DARK Act do?
Forbade states from enforcing their own GMO labeling laws. Defined “genetic engineering” very narrowly, excluded many foods. Allows labeling through QR codes
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As Federal Pesticide Oversight Decays, Grassroots Parent Groups Flourish.
All the minute amounts of individual toxic chemicals may not kill you right away, but the toxic assault of all the chemicals, adjuvants, and synthetic materials are taking a serious toll on public health.
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Do labels on meat hide more than they disclose?
America’s proud meat producers should finally be able to explain and promote all of their practices that ultimately provide safe, affordable and abundant meat products for American families.
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A Hypocritical Hydroponic Hypocracy
“Hydroponics has fooled consumers for so long,” they stated, “it would be unfair to call our bluff now.”
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Farmers to America: We Can’t Breathe. Generations of farmers have fought the system. Why won’t they act now?
I once asked Mary Berry, the daughter of Wendell Berry, why our current generations of farmers did not rise up like their forebears and call out the same system for exploiting their work, for…
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Emergency Measures to Protect the US Meat Supply During and AFTER the COVID-19 Pandemic
Longstanding policies that favor concentrated control by global conglomerates have undermined American livestock producers and curtailed local economic opportunity. The effects of this “meat monopoly” have been exposed by coronavirus.
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Dangerous Loopholes in the Proposed SEC ESG Rules for Full Value Chains
At each step in the value chain, portfolio companies tend to reset the baseline measure used for comparisons and ignore the cumulative negative effects of their value chain. Everybody gets to be green.
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Don’t like immigrants? Support immigration.
If you don’t like immigration, you should think about supporting our immigrant populations. Created on 2019-07-25 02:54 Published on 2019-07-25 03:19 If you don’t like immigration, you should think about supporting our immigrant populations.…
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Dirty language sullies soil debate at National Organic Standards Board
Created on 2016-11-18 15:48 Published on 2016-11-18 15:58 The solution seemed simple enough. Some urban farmers started growing food in nutrient-fortified water instead of dirt, and some other folks shrugged agreeably and let it…
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Dear tech bros: Stop telling me I shouldn’t engage with my customers.
There seems to be a surfeit of tech plays trying to eliminate interaction between retail shoppers and staff. Why? I guess because technology can make this happen, and there’s is money to be made…
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Dear Organic Community: We need to be better and act broader if we want to stay relevant and valued.
Created on 2021-10-15 23:24 Published on 2021-10-16 00:18 My comments to the National Organic Standards Board this week: Our company now operates over 160 health food stores across 20 states west of the Mississippi.…
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While the USDA fiddles, The Real Organic Promise rebuilds the future.
Created on 2018-04-27 15:35 Published on 2018-04-27 15:55 “It’s easy to compromise when your community is informed, experienced and honest.” — Alan Lewis * ************************* * “Let me describe how the Real Organic Project…
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CODEX is choosing your future. Are you engaged in the debate?
Created on 2018-11-20 19:43 Published on 2018-11-20 21:13 CODEX is a a global rule making body comprised of un-elected delegates and corporate lobbyists who have assumed authority over all food regulation and food standards…
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The “BioRoboost Roundtable” asks for input on the most urgent standardisation needs of the BioTech industry. Here’s my take.
Created on 2020-10-08 15:19 Published on 2020-10-08 15:29 Standard#1: Risk is mitigated by profit. Any burden of shame or responsibility created by the harm we do to other humans and the global ecesystem will…
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Risks and Realities of Synthetic Biology in Food Protein Production
Created on 2022-08-17 14:30 Recently the oldest player in the #naturalfoods trade circulated a survey seeking comment and opinion on synthetic biology. Unfortunately, the survey was salted with an extremely favorable definition of #syntheticbiology…
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Immigration isn’t what we think it is. A look at Haiti shows us why.
Created on 2018-02-16 21:12 I knew better than to sit in the back. We had to cover 75 miles of rocky, washed out roads: four and half hours of bumps, zags and stops to…
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45 Ways Direct Citizen Action Will Keep the Food System Working
From Food Insecurity in America: An Emergency We Prepared For, An Experience to Learn From. Created on 2020-03-20 17:02 Published on 2020-03-20 17:49 Our country’s farmers, community leaders, school districts, colleges, state and local…
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Bioengineered Food Disclosure
July 3, 2018 U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Docket No.: AMS-TM-17-050 RE: Comments on proposed regulations to implement the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standards (NBFDS) The AMS has solicited comments on a…
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The White House asked why you are uncomfortable with genetic engineering. Here’s what I told the President.
Created on 2015-12-04 04:48 Published on 2015-12-04 05:40 Dear Mr. President: Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on these issues. I am active in legislative and regulatory affairs in the…
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Celebrating the Regenerative Vegan: True to Self, True to Animals, True to Planet
We celebrate the Regenerative Vegan for making the effort to understand planetary ecology and animal welfare in all its complexity Created on 2021-08-04 22:19 Published on 2021-08-04 22:48 If you’re not one, you know…
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Grassland Ecology 101 for Vegans and Synthetic Meat Marketers
The Big Lie depends on you dismissing the natural laws of grassland ecology and focusing solely on bad industrial livestock practices. Created on 2019-03-22 17:32 Published on 2019-03-22 19:19 First, congratulations on your commitment…
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